On 25 November 2015, Mrs. Margaret Fong, Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) paid a courtesy call on Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

        The Executive Director expressed her appreciation to the Royal Thai Government for the support and the promotion of trade and business relationship between Thailand and Hong Kong. In order to promote further business relations, two events will take place in 2016, namely; 1) Mega Promotion Event, which, will take place in Bangkok on 6 October 2016. Where high ranking officials and businessmen from Hong Kong will attend this event to discuss cooperation on E-Commerce, Digital Market and Supply Chain Management and 2) Belt and Road Summit, which will take place in Hong Kong, in May 2016, where around 65 leaders with their Thai counterparts will be invited to attend the Summit to discuss on the development of regional infrastructure. Furthermore, the Executive Director affirmed that Hong Kong hopes to enhance cooperation with Thailand, as Thailand is a strategic partner for investment and access to ASEAN, which is moving toward ASEAN community on 31 December 2015. 

        On this occasion, the Permanent Secretary expressed his appreciation toward HKTDC’s role to promote better relations between Thailand and Hong Kong, including prioritizing Thailand as the main strategic partner for trade and investment cooperation with the ASEAN. In addition, the Permanent Secretary reaffirmed that Thailand and Hong Kong are capable of promoting cooperation in many areas, such as, transportation and communication management, Small and Medium Enterprises and Creative Economy. Moreover, the Permanent Secretary also informed the Executive Director on Thai development policy, the promotion on Super Clusters, such as, car parts and electronics manufacture, petroleum and chemical production, which Hong Kong could play crucial part in achieving those goals and hope that the HKTDC relays these information to promote good relations with Hong Kong and Chinese businesses.

        The HKTDC is a public organization, established in 1966, with mission to create opportunities and promote trade and investment for Hong Kong companies in Thailand and other countries, for example, promoting import and export between Thailand and Hong Kong, export to other countries via Hong Kong, and the Chinese investment in Thailand via Hong Kong. Today, there are 46 franchises over the world and 7 franchises in Southeast Asia.